She Smiled
by Mindrider
Summary: After having the girly and gorgeous Annabeth Chase as a lab partner for four consecutive quarters, Percy finally finds himself in a conversation with her. And much to his annoyance, he discovers that he 'sort of likes' her.


**Your wish is my command**

Percy hadn't expected anyone to notice his new piercing.

After all, it was just another stud to add to the succession of silver rings that spiraled down his ear like a snake, leading up to the bright green gauge at the bottom, which he was inherently the most proud of. And out of all of the people who _could _have noticed the new accessory, he hadn't expected it to be _her_.

"Another one, I see."

The words were drawled over the top of a shiny, white iPhone that was covered by a bejeweled blue case, through pouty pink lips that were lined so perfectly they could've been done by a professional. As Percy struggled to form a response, he watched the way that she twirled a strand of curly blonde hair idly around her finger.

"Yeah," he said finally. "I didn't think you'd notice."

Annabeth shrugged, not looking up from her phone. "I see the same side of your beautiful face every other day, Jackson, of course I'd notice."

It was true. Their chemistry teacher hadn't changed the seating chart since the beginning of the year, so he and Annabeth had been lab partners for four consecutive quarters. They hadn't talked much, unless to ask who should retrieve the phenolphthalein from the desk at the front, or whether the answer to question two was – in fact – twenty seven, and Percy was surprised that she struck up a conversation.

"We could switch seats, if you want," he suggested. "That way, you can become acquainted with a _whole new side of my face_."

"I'm fine where I am," she stated bluntly, but Percy could've sworn he saw a small smile pulling at the edges of her perfectly sculpted lips.

And that's when Percy had come to a very uncomfortable realization:

He sort of liked her.

Percy would never use the word 'crush' to describe how he felt about his long time lab partner Annabeth Chase. The word had such a horrible connotation. Whenever he heard it, it sounded like the type of term used by giggly seventh graders at a slumber party, not by the lead guitarist of the best garage band in the area (if he did say so himself), or the guy bound to earn the senior superlative for 'best hair' – for, his well-managed undercut was, by far, the best out of all the darkly dressed guys at the school. So, he settled for the phrase 'sort of liked,' because it fit his situation pretty well.

"What did you say?" Percy asked a few days later. He had seen her lips moving, but his music was playing too high to hear her.

She tried again.

"A little louder," he suggested, not touching the volume slider.

Instead, Annabeth reached over and yanked the earbuds from his ears.

"Hey!"

"Would you turn that _down_?" she exclaimed. "I'm trying to finish this stupid worksheet, and I can't concentrate while you're blaring that disgusting noise."

Percy made an expression of mock offense. "Excuse me? My music is the _best _music. You should be thankful that you get to listen to it too."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow before holding out her hand. "Let me see your phone."

Percy handed it over reluctantly. He was nervous about showing her the contents of his iPod, partially because music was incredibly important to him and he didn't want her to bash his taste, and partly because he felt, for some reason, like he needed to impress her. However, before Annabeth even scrolled through his playlist, she frowned at the device.

"That is one massive crack, Jackson."

"But I'm wearing pants."

She blinked once. "No, on your phone, stupid. The screen is split practically in half!"

Percy crossed his arms. "I dropped it, okay?"

"Off a ten story building?"

"Alright. Maybe I fell on it."

She snorted. "How?"

Percy scratched the buzzed part of his hair. "I haven't really gotten the hang of skateboarding yet."

Annabeth laughed loudly then, and he felt himself blush as other kids in the class turned to stare. They likely found it odd to see someone like Percy making conversation with someone like Annabeth. "What?" he demanded. "Stop laughing at me!"

She giggled slightly. "I'm sorry, Jackson. It's just kinda funny that the punkest guy in the whole damn school can't balance on four wheels."

"It's not as easy as it looks."

"I'm sure it's not," she replied. "And anyway, why don't you have a phone case?"

Percy answered honestly. "I'm sorta broke."

"I see." Annabeth reached into her backpack and pulled out her own phone.

"I thought you were going to criticize my music taste," Percy recalled, slightly disappointed that she had gone back to ignoring him so quickly.

"Don't worry, I am. I just wanted to loan you this." She pulled her bejeweled case off her own phone and snapped it onto Percy's. "There. You have to use this until you get yourself a real case."

Percy looked at the rhinestones with distaste. "Do I have to?"

"Either that, or until you learn how to skateboard properly."

Percy snorted, knowing that neither of those scenarios was likely to happen any time soon. "What are you gonna do about _your_ phone?" he wondered.

"Oh, I have loads more cases at home. Rhinestones are on their way out, anyway. Just give it back when you get your own."

Annabeth lifted Percy's phone and stared intently at the screen, her silver eyes calculating as her finger swiped through the list. She frowned. "Do you seriously have music from a band called _Klamydia_?"

"It means Chlamydia in Finnish," Percy answered matter-o-factly. "They're pretty good. My favorite album of theirs is '_Himmelachtungperkele'._"

"Bless you," Annabeth joked. "Who are _Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13_?"

"Not as good as _Klamydia_, but still pretty solid. They used to wear dresses and makeup onstage during live performances, which is super awesome."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow but continued scrolling. After a moment, she smiled.

"What?"

"Do I want to know about _Crying Nut_?"

"Oh, they're fantastic," Percy replied enthusiastically. "They're widely considered the godfathers of Korean punk scene."

Annabeth just looked at him, a funny light in her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

She sighed. "Oh nothing, Jackson. You're just… different."

He frowned "You're just saying that because of my '_massive crack_.'"

Annabeth laughed again and the sound was even nicer on his ears than the music of _Crying Nut._

Percy wasn't dumb.

He knew that his friendship with Annabeth was that weird type of friendship that only existed in class. Once they were out of the science lab and away from the smell of vinegar and expo markers, he knew that he and Annabeth were unlikely to even exchange hallway hellos. Their school wasn't known for any _Mean Girls_-esque social hierarchy, but he and Annabeth were from two different groups entirely. He had the other guys with undercuts that weren't as good as his, as well as the musicians. She had the group of girls with sleek hair and perfect eyeliner, who expressed themselves through flouncy skirts.

Percy understood that he didn't have a chance with the silver eyed socialite with a horrible taste in music, but that didn't stop him from thinking about her during class, at home, and while he was skateboarding from school. Unfortunately for Percy, that soon proved injurious.

"_Oomph_!" Percy let out a sharp breath as the front wheels of his board slammed into the side of an unexpected speed bump, and he was sent hurtling forward into the air like a clumsy missile. His knees hit the street with a loud thump, and he rolled over several times before coming to a slow stop.

With the wind knocked out of him, he lay in the road for several moments, staring at the darkening sky as he struggled to catch his breath. He wasn't supposed to skateboard at night, but rehearsal had gone longer than usual, and he figured that walking home would take too long. But when he felt the throbbing of newly formed bruises on his knees and the stinging of his scraped cheek, he came to the conclusion that that decision had been a bad one.

He was about to sit up when he saw the headlights.

The most awful screeching noise Percy had ever heard filled the air as the tires of a silver convertible grinded furiously against the ground. The car came to a stop mere feet in front of Percy's paralyzed form, and the girl in the front seat glared at him murderously.

"Are you serious, Jackson?" she growled, yanking her keys from her car in one fluid motion, and then forcing the door open.

"I told you I wasn't good at skateboarding," he moaned in response.

Annabeth just sighed. "Let me look at you."

A blurry blonde came into focus in front of him, and she crouched beside him, examining the marks on his knees. He sat up.

"Doesn't look too bad," she was saying. "Oh. Your face." She reached out and placed a hand on his jaw, running her light blue fingernail below the scrape. Percy couldn't keep the blush from his cheeks, so he pretended to cough, and turned away.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked. Percy was amazed at how quickly she'd gone from being furious with him, to being overly concerned.

"Yeah, but I didn't get the worst of the damage." He tentatively pulled his phone from his pocket to find that the device itself was without a scratch, but Annabeth's phone case was cracked into pieces. Rhinestones littered the road as he brought it forward for her to see.

"Yikes," Annabeth said after a moment.

"Sorry," Percy muttered.

She stood up and brushed off her pants. "Why don't I give you a ride home, Jackson? It's getting late, and I don't think skateboarding really agrees with you."

"That would be great." Percy said. He slowly stood, feeling the complaints of his muscles. He then grabbed his skateboard from the side of the street and slid into Annabeth's convertible, noticing that the color of her car matched the color of her eyes.

Annabeth twisted the key and the car sputtered to life, a familiar song playing quietly from the speakers.

"No way," Percy muttered, recognizing the band. "Is this _Fall Out Boy_?"

Annabeth smirked. "Just because I don't listen to bands named after STDs doesn't mean that I have a horrible taste in music."

"I'll say," Percy agreed. "I didn't take you for the type."

"Don't put girls into categories, Jackson," she warned sternly. "We're not animals."

Percy looked over at her, his eyes moving from her floral skirt to her sleek blonde hair, and then to her shimmering pink lips that were sort of mouthing the words to the song, not quite in time.

"You're right," Percy agreed.

The only words they exchanged after that were directions from Percy on how to get to his house. It wasn't awkward, which he found surprising. The wind in their ears and the roll of loose gravel beneath the tires were conversation enough. As they pulled onto his street, Percy spun the wheel of his skateboard between his thumb and pointer finger, wishing idly that he had the courage to ask her out. But Annabeth was Annabeth, and Percy was… Well, Percy. He understood that they would likely never be more than acquaintances. And it hurt.

"Thanks for the ride," Percy said breezily, as he unbuckled his seatbelt. The car was stopped in his driveway. "And I'm sorry about your phone case."

She smiled at him. "Any time. And don't worry about the case." She opened her mouth as if to say something else, but seemed to decide against it. The top of the car was moving back into place as Percy reached for the door.

"Hey, Percy." Annabeth's voice was shaky and uncertain, which seemed odd, as she usually spoke with complete confidence. Percy turned to her.

"Yeah, what's up?"

She paused and then bit her lip. "I lied to you earlier."

"About me 'not looking too bad?'" he joked.

She smiled. "No. About liking that band. I'd never heard of _Fall out Boy_ until I googled popular punk bands last night and bought some of their songs. I don't like them much. To be honest, I don't really like them at all."

Percy shook his head, confused. "Why did you buy music you don't like?"

Annabeth squirmed and mumbled something incoherent.

"What's that?"

She spoke again, but Percy still didn't catch it.

"A little louder," he urged.

"I bought it to impress, you – okay?" she blurted suddenly.

Percy was too surprised to reply.

"I figured music was a good way to get to know you," she admitted, "and to make actual conversation with you instead of just teasing you and hoping you'll take some initiative. I just didn't expect your music to suck this bad."

Percy, who was still shocked at her confession, didn't process the insult. He pulled the car door closed and leaned back in his seat. "What do you mean, you bought it to impress me?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know, Jackson. You're a mysterious guy. You don't seem too easily impressed."

"You impress me," he stated quickly before his mind caught up with his mouth. When he realized what he'd said, his face turned red.

It might've been a trick of the light or the sheen of her blush, but Annabeth's cheeks seemed pink too. "Really?" she asked quietly.

Percy nodded. "Yeah. With the amount of effort you put into your looks and everything. Like, I don't think I've ever seen you wear the same outfit twice. Your nail polish changes on a weekly basis. You know the trends of phone cases, for god's sake!"

Annabeth giggled. "Does that stuff really impress you? I thought you'd find it dumb."

Percy frowned. "As a guy who thinks that ten minutes is a lot of time to spend on my hair each morning, your dedication is pretty impressive."

"Says the guy who skateboards even though it's life threatening. That's what I call dedication."

"Probably closer to stupidity," Percy sighed, and Annabeth laughed. "I do find you impressive. A lot impressive, actually. On more than just your looks too." He paused. "But, your looks are great, like, believe me, I just meant that there's also other stuff that I like about you."

Annabeth didn't say anything, just stared at him with a weird look in her eyes, a small smile on her lips. Percy recognized that smile. It was the same smile she'd displayed the day after he'd gotten his new piercing. The day of the 'sort-of-liked' realization. Percy cleared his throat.

"Well, uh, my mom's probably waiting inside, so I should probably go."

"Oh yeah, of course."

He opened the door. "Thanks again for the ride. And for, you know, not running me over."

"Any time, Jackson."

Percy was about to stand up, when he made a very fast decision. He remembered what she'd said about wanting him to take some initiative. So, sliding the skate board under his arm, he leaned over and pressed a swift kiss to Annabeth's cheek. It was only a second or two, and it felt like even less, but he savored every bit of it, from the softness of her skin, to the faint smell of vanilla perfume. Her hair ticked his cheek as he pulled away, watching her expression flicker once before making a decision.

She smiled.


End file.
